Robin Hood's Daughter
by desert-flower17
Summary: This is the classic prompt of "Nate has another kid." This time the "kid" is 20 years old and just as messed up as her dad. (Rated for language and adult themes, but there is nothing explicit or sexual)
1. Prologue

Hi! Hope you all are doing well. I have seen plenty of stories where Nate has a daughter that joins the team. Most of them are teenagers, I wanted to mess around with the idea that Nate would have an older daughter and see how that messes with the team. Anyways, I hope you like it.

Leverage doesn't belong to me. Reviews are always welcome :)

* * *

"You know when I saw you in New Orleans, I knew that you were talented, but I had no idea your pedigree."

Two people sat in a booth in the back corner of a bar so that at any given time either individual could see all the entrances to the establishment. The man had wrinkles around his eyes that contracted when he talked. Though he was not that tall, when he was sat down he towered over his dinner partner. The young woman he sat across from was inscrutable as she sipped on her drink.

"It wasn't important at the time." The woman answered the unspoken question.

"Well, it's important now."

"I understand."

"After the run-in at the office we are going to have to take care of this."

The girl nodded her response.

"You understand I can't just stand idly stand by and he won't either."

"I know, I don't care if he's my dad. You can use me in any way you'd like. We just need to get the painting."

The man leaned back as a thin-lipped grin spread across his face.

"I'm pleased to hear that."  
The woman leaned back as well.

The man resumed speaking, "You have always been talented, but now you are ruthless enough to try and go head-to-head with your father. Elle, you are leaving me with little doubts about taking you under my wing."

"Well, I am pleased to hear that." Elle said using his words.

"Let's do this." Marcus Starke said with vigor queuing the daughter of Nathan Ford to text the others in their team. She pulled out her phone and hovered over the contact photo of her father before going to tell the team where they were to meet up. Despite her concerns, she has known that this would happen since word got out that her father had started working on the dark side. After sending the message, she tipped her drink towards her mentor, "Let's do this."


	2. The Two Live Crew Pt 1

The day after meeting with Marcus, I found myself in a storage room surrounded by a group of top-rate thieves. The last year of working under Marcus had seen me continually found in similar rooms around the world. I watched and learned from some of the best, all while getting the privilege of hearing Marcus Starke's reasoning for all of his moves that he made during a con. I had learned a lot, but this one was different. I hadn't quite mastered compartmentalization, but I had no choice to do so now.

I was looking at a screen with a picture of Sophie Devereaux under a pseudonym. The local newspaper had released an obviously faked obituary, citing her work in the theatrical community of Boston. I had heard her name come from the lips of the best of the best grifters, but those instances weren't what I was thinking of as I studied her face. Instead I thought of that name being snidely spoken at dinner tables. I thought of seeing her name scrawled across IYS reports that I had stolen from my dad's office. I recalled seeing the look in my father's eyes as he talked about the most recent run-in with the grifter. I knew her name and I had seen her face. This was a woman that had made my mother insecure and my father frustrated.

As I listened to Marcus talk about her, I saw a similar gleam in his eyes as to the ones I had seen in my dad's. All my emotions bubbled just below the surface. Feelings of contempt, longing, and jealousy. But I was acutely aware of those who sat on either side of me. I couldn't show any sort of weakness or vulnerability, they were already wary of my role as apprentice. Instead of thinking of my more vulnerable feelings, I focused on the woman herself. Despite her odd relationship with both of the main male influences in my life, I still admired her. I had heard all of the stories about her skills. She was The Grifter. Her skills undoubtedly outmatched every single one of the dozen or so grifter's that I had worked with, maybe even including my mentor. Above that, her passing away gave me slight heartache for my dad. I knew that this hurt him, even so, it was his fault that he had chosen her over my mother. I know he didn't exactly make that decision, but he didn't wait too long after the divorce to form this team of his which included the woman he had chased for years.

"I went to the funeral and can confirm that she is dead."

Marcus's comment got my attention. He looked over at me and I tried to keep steady as he continued talking.

"I also ran into Nate Ford, confirming that the two were working together."

The other's in the room gave a sigh. While they knew the name and his reputation, they didn't know that I was his daughter. Since my entrance into the criminal world I had gone by the name Elle Brimmer to give me some form of anonymity.

"Do you think his crew will be out of our way now that they are down a grifter?"

Chaos voiced a common question. I doubted it, after trauma he tends to get a little manic about whatever his current obsession was.

"Maybe, maybe not. We will continue with the plan, just keep your eyes open."

* * *

The recon started with three of our five members dressed to the nines as I sat in a dingy van accompanied by Chaos. I had been used in the field before, but we decided that if my dad did show up, it wouldn't be the right time for any sort of family reunion. That wasn't going to stop Marcus from using my presence on the team to our benefit.

Throughout the night various team members ran into their counterparts on my dad's team. I was a little giddy watching the interactions, this was the first time I had seen this type of competition. I had studied with some of the best, including those on our current team, but now I got to watch the best. Elliot, their hitter, was well known by the military, thieves, and terrorists alike. He was ruthless and efficient, a combination not easily found in hitters. Parker is the greatest thief known, while no one can point out exactly where or who she came from, she is an unstable genius. I had found out she was once a mentee to another great thief, which I found to be some sort of connection. While I didn't know much about hacking, aside from the handful of typing classes I took in school, I knew Hardison. He was young, and yet, had made a reputation known. I wasn't sure if Chaos could measure up to their hacker. These professionals were amazing and well trained. Plus, they were under the leadership of Nate Ford, a once chaser, now chased. These individual criminals could do a lot of damage, but word had gotten around that my dad had made them nearly unstoppable. I've always known him to be smart, but I'm sure that Marcus could outsmart him.

He made his approach. "Nathan Ford, I can't believe I didn't recognize you at the funeral. I guess I was blinded by grief."

"Guilty conscience?" My dad quipped back.

As if Marcus would dare try and kill the top grifter in the world, besides he still loved her. I'm sure.

"Call them off."

"Not going to happen."

"Now, word is on the street that you run the nastiest crew this side of the Atlantic."

"What?" Dad coughed.

That's weird.

"You robbed a bank. You framed a judge. You rigged a jury to steal a million-dollar settlement. I hear that you even conned the Irish mob out of a couple million dollars just this year. Mmm, now that's style."

"Well, that's one way of looking at it."

Wow, I never knew my dad could be so ruthless, ripping off innocent people. Back at IYS, he never would go after the innocents. I thought that I had cornered that particular market for our family.

Dad continued, "If you know about us then you would know to get out of my city."

"It's still your city, Nate. I'm just gonna take her out for one night of cheap fun. I'll get her back to you in the morning."

As I was listening to their conversation I was momentarily distracted when Chaos suddenly mumbled something about taking Hardison out. He held up his handing, showing that I should stay put, and he got out of the van to face off against the other hacker. All sorts of alarms went off and I attempted to tune them out while I listened to the conversation inside.

Someone from the gallery announced the closing.

"Your people blew it" Marcus said putting the pressure back on the situation.

"My people never make mistakes."

"What about Sophie?"

"Is that a warning?"

"Maybe, but this definitely is." From our plan, I knew that Marcus had handed over a necklace my dad had gotten me that had a small silver cross. There was silence over the comms and I saw on the monitor that my dad was frozen. This was the part of the night that I had been waiting for. It terrified me that my dad would know what I was doing, but Marcus and I had figured that would be the best play. If he no longer had Sophie and he knew that I was going against him, he might consider bowing out. Or he would simply drink himself into a slight coma while we were busy doing our thing.

"The game is afoot." I quoted to no one in particular. Or maybe I was talking to my dad as I hoped he would respond in the way that we wanted.

* * *

The con has started! Did anyone catch the inspiration for Elle's alias?


	3. The Two Live Crew Pt 2 (Nate)

I looked down at my hand to see what Starke had set there. I knew what it was before I looked, but I had to double check. The smooth silver reflected the gallery's lights back at me. I stopped breathing. She was here. She was here. Maybe not in the room, maybe in the room, but she was near me. My daughter was close by and that reality was nearly crushing. I had frozen in my spot, knowing that I had to gather the team, but not being able to make my feet move. I hadn't heard from my little girl in two years. When she left, I was in such a stupor from losing Sam and my marriage that I couldn't even bother to look for her. I had figured that she was old enough to make her own decisions and that I shouldn't go looking for someone that obviously didn't want me in her life. After the team had attempted to split up, I had looked for her. I had come to my senses regarding that I needed her and that I was a shitty dad for not trying to gain back her trust. But my searches had come up with nothing and I felt like a failure.

But she was here. She was in Boston. And she was working with Starke. I assumed she was working for him, he had been known to take on apprentices before. My anger began to rise before Eliot found me and pulled me outside to the van, so we could regroup.

* * *

Later I sat at the bar and quietly sipped on my whiskey, trying to dull the pain in my chest. The team had returned to my apartment in a panic about the other team messing them up. I had had to get away from the noise. I heard Sophie's heels click against the stairs as she made her way into the bar and sat down next to me.

"Do you want to tell me what Starke gave you that freaked you out so much?"

I reached into my pocket and slipped the necklace onto the bar.

"It's Elizabeth's."

"Elizabeth, your daughter, Elizabeth?"

I just took another sip in response. Sophie's stare seemed to burrow into my head. Or maybe that was just the booze. I glanced her way as I poured another glass. Something seemed to click in her because she swiftly took my glass and downed it.

"So, Mr. Mastermind, how do we get her back?"

I looked at her surprised, the gears turning in my head.

"I suppose the game is afoot." I replied. Sophie nodded her head towards the stairs and we went back up to the loft to alert the team to the development.

* * *

Is the Sherlock quote a little to on the nose or do you like it? I liked the symmetry, but I wasn't sure.


	4. The Two Live Crew Pt 3

This one is a long one. Things kind of of come to a head, but I really hope you like it.

* * *

The time had come for the break in. This time, we hoped that my dad wouldn't make an appearance, but we all were ready no matter what. I was left to sit in the van again, I usually found myself doing that every couple of cons since I was still in training or there was no use for me. As we made our entrance, it became clear that the other team had as well. Chaos battled with Hardison in cyberspace. Parker was set back by Apollo's bird move, which amused me to no end. Mikel swept the area for Eliot. Marcus was outside the building, coordinating the moves until he ran into the man of the hour. He distracted my dad while the others continued their work and I called the next moves, knowing the plan better than the others. However, the other team had us bested. Parker, Hardison, and Eliot walked out with our guys in cuffs. Chaos started nudging me with his hand to get my attention. While I had tried to help out teammates, I hadn't seen the arrival of the very much not dead Sophie Devereaux. Surprised, I focused on the conversation in my earpiece.

"We know that you tried to kill me." Sophie said.

"I did no such thing." Marcus said back.

"You see, I know that you saw us that night at the office and having someone out there who knew all your tricks just wouldn't do." Dad said matter-of-factly.

Something about the condescending tone he took snapped something inside of me. Chaos tried and failed to stop me as I opened the van's doors and marched over to the three.

"How dare you say something like that? Marcus wouldn't kill anyone, and he shares his secrets all the time. We all know that you were his apprentice, Sophie."

I went berserk. I couldn't believe that MY father would pretend to be the good guy in all of this. HE was the one that let me leave. HE was the one who didn't care about people. HE was the bad guy.

"I'm his apprentice. Marcus cares about people more than you ever could." I spat the last part out at my dad. I could see my words hurt him and he couldn't quite formulate a response. Instead, Sophie stepped in.

"Elizabeth, Marcus is not a good guy. He tried to kill me."

"You don't have any proof."

"Yes, we do." My dad finally responded. With that he pulled out pictures of Marcus walking into a building holding vase of flowers.

"There was a bomb in that vase that was supposed to detonate when I came home." Sophie explained. I looked at the picture.

Chaos chimed in over comms, "Elle, they're right. Hardison just sent me the video and it wasn't doctored."

I looked over at Marcus. His eyes showed that they were all telling the truth.

"Why would you kill Sophie? She was your apprentice just like me."

"Sweetie, you are nothing like her." Marcus spat with venom.

"I was never under him. I was better than he has ever been, and I do know all his secrets. The secrets he probably never had the guts to tell you." Sophie said.

"But you care about me. You said you did. You showed me. I thought you cared about me." I felt a tear escape. I thought I had found someone who truly saw me for me and maybe even loved me.

"Why did you pick me up off the street then? Why did you train me? Why would you waste your time on me?"

"You were easy." Marcus said bluntly.

I looked at him and knew that it was the truth. I looked at Sophie and saw her sadness. Finally, I looked at the angry tears in my dad's eyes. I couldn't handle it, so I left. I felt myself just turn around and start walking. I heard my dad call after me and Sophie stop him. I didn't care. I couldn't care, I just had to leave.

* * *

A few hours later I found myself at Sophie's fake gravesite with flowers. I'm not sure why I went there or even how, but as I stood there staring at the name on the headstone, the woman herself appeared beside me.

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Lovely flowers."

"I'm glad you like them. They're for you, or well, her." I pointed at the headstone.

"In that case, thank you, but I prefer roses to lilies." Sophie said making me chuckle.

"Why did you join my dad's team?"

Sophie looked at me surprised, but I just continued to look at the headstone.

"Back in the day, when I met your father, I was a bit broken. We all were. Everyone in the game was, still are actually. Anyway, when I met Nate, I saw a light in him. He didn't right me off as some forsaken criminal. He chased me with more vigor than anyone had before. During this chase, I met Starke. I had heard of him, but this was the first time I worked with him. He was very smart and very sexy. During the course of working with him, I realized his darkness. Now I had Nate to compare him to, I could see what he truly was, a monster. He prayed on the weak and went after girls half his age." Sophie paused.

"Anyway, I could see past his lies and saw his encompassing greed. He was willing to steal from anyone who had anything worth stealing, even people who had only one valuable object to their name. That said, I had met men like him before, but this time your father was chasing us. Every time I ran into Nate, I knew that Starke would not be good for me in the long run."

I glanced at her guiltily, but she was also looking at the headstone.

"I left Starke behind. Years later, your father approached me about joining his new crew and I wanted, no I needed, the opportunity to spend some time with someone with that sort of goodness in them."

I scoffed at her. She had answered my question and I could see her honesty, I just couldn't see my dad as being good.

"I know you don't think your dad is good, but this crew of his has been helping people. All we have done is steal from those who ripped off less powerful people. We give everything we steal to those who need it."

Things were starting to make sense, like the fact that my dad was a criminal in the first place.

"I just don't know if I can trust him." I whispered. I can't explain why I opened up to Sophie that way, but I did.

Sophie gently grabbed my arm. "I haven't told anyone, but I've been considering leaving the crew."

I also can't explain why Sophie was opening up to me at all. I had literally just been helping a guy who had tried to kill her.

"After tonight though, I'm reminded of why I joined in the first place. The world outside of a good support system is scary and full of people like Marcus Starke. I want to find myself, but I think I'm in the place to do that."

Finally, we made eye contact. We both had slightly puffy eyes from a long night and tears. I stepped away and set down the flowers at the headstone.

I took a deep breath, "Do you think I could join you?" I wanted to find myself and I wanted to join a good crew. I might even be able to find that goodness that Sophie saw in my dad.

She just nodded and turned to walk away, leaving me with no choice but to follow. She led me to a car and we both got inside. We spent the ride silently listening to the show tunes that were playing over her speakers. We drove to a bar that I recognized by name from stories of my grandfather. We both got out and walked to the door. We stopped and looked at each other.

"We took care of Starke by the way. He won't be bothering anyone for a long time."

I nodded then placed a hand on the door, slowly opening it. Inside my dad stood behind the bar. He looked up at me, said nothing, and poured a glass of wine and a glass of soda. I walked up, grabbed the wine, and took a sip. Dad smirked as I sat down. This was going to be a wild ride.

* * *

Let's think of this as my pilot. The rest of the series won't be like this, but I had to show where Elizabeth was coming from and I didn't want to do it in exposition. So do you guys like it?

This is the first kind of stories like this that I have written in a long time. More chapters are coming soon. Including a much needed father-daughter talk.


	5. Family Reunion

Literally no one has really started to read this, but it's Thanksgiving Break and I am on a role.

* * *

Sophie, Dad, and I moved to a booth. I can honestly say it was a nice night as we all recounted stories from cons. I had considerably fewer good stories, but I contributed to the conversation. An hour in I could feel my neck start to get sore from flicking it back and forth when Dad and Sophie would tell a story together. Eventually, Sophie excused herself saying something about beauty sleep and I could feel my heart drop to my stomach. We had yet to broach the real topic of me joining the team. I watched Sophie walk out the door and she turned her head at the last second to wink at me. If Sophie could stay with the team, surely, I had the gall to ask to join. I looked back at my Dad as silence fell between us. I thumbed the lip of my drink and I felt my leg start to shake with nerves. I took a death breath.

"I want to join the team-"

"Do you want to stay with me-"

Dad and I started talking simultaneously. He let out a puff of breath and I felt myself smile in relief. He DID want me back with him.

"You want to join the team?" Dad asked.

"If you guys would let me. After Starke, it might do me some good to help out the little guy for a while."

"Good, good, I thought I was going to have to do some more convincing."

"To be frank, I want to join because of the team and what you guys do." I said leaving the part about being unsure about him unspoken. He knit his brows together. Silence fell again as I took a sip of my glass.

"I don't hate you-"

"I looked for you-"

We spoke over each other again.

"You looked for me?" I asked, I hadn't realized he had. I never got any calls when I first left and neither of my parents asked any of my old friends about my disappearance.

"It took me longer than it should have, but I did. About six months ago."

"Six months ago! It took you a year and a half to look for your daughter?" I could feel my anger boiling up again. "I was angry. I was forgotten, and you didn't even bother to look for me for a full 18 months. What the hell, Dad?" I surprised myself, I had never cursed at my Dad before.

"I'm sorry. I was broken after your mother divorced me. I stopped looking for jobs and had lost all hope. When you left, I thought that it had finally happened, I thought I had finally completely lost my family." Dad tried to defend himself.

"Mom divorced you because you stopped trying! You stopped trying to feel better and instead dragged the last bit of your family down with you. All you would have ever had to do to get me back was to try. I'm your last living kid for crying out loud."

"You're right." That stopped my rant.

"You're right. It's nobody's fault except mine that my family fell apart. I didn't try. I was swallowed by my grief and I let that ruin the last good thing in my life; my relationship with you. I love you Elizabeth, and if you will let me, I want to be back in your life."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My dad was actually apologizing and admitting that he had hurt me. He was putting in an effort to actually be my dad. I might be an adult, but I had missed my dad terribly and I still needed him. I had gone a long time without needing anyone. I had learned how to make it for myself. At least I had thought I did, instead I had just been manipulated into thinking someone loved me. I thought my dad was being honest, but I couldn't let myself completely let down my guard.

My dad waited, and I took another sip of my wine before responding, "Ok. I will join the team, if that's ok with everyone else, and I'll move into your apartment, if that's ok with you. But I need to have my own space, I'm grown woman and don't want to be treated like a teenager. When I have enough saved up, I'll move into my own place and we'll see if we can continue to be in each other's lives."

As I told him the plan, I realized how odd my request was. I was demanding a place to live and a spot on the team, but after everything I had little doubts that he would agree. He had a lot to make up for anyways.

"Ok, but I have some terms of my own. We sit down to have a meal together at least twice a week and you have to tell your mother you are here."

"I don't want to call, Mom. I haven't talked to her since I left."

"I know, that's why you need to call her. I can't have her thinking I lied to her and besides we both promised that if you contacted either of us, we would let the other one know."

I nodded my head solemnly. If I could talk to my dad, I could handle my mom.

"Now that we have that handled. Why don't you come upstairs and get some sleep? It's been a long night for both of us." I looked at the clock and realized that it was already 2:00 am and the bar was deserted. I agreed with my dad, it had been a very long night.

"You go on ahead. I'll lock up down here."

We both slid out of the booth and before I could stop myself, I was hugging him.

"Thank you." I spoke into his chest as I felt his arms wrap around me. I was pretty messed up and we had a lot of work to do, but for the first time in years my dad and I were both going to wake up under the same roof.

* * *

I hope this chapter did the characters justice. The next chapter will be the first real con together and Elizabeth will meet the rest of the team! Reviews always welcome!


	6. Ice Man Job Pt 1

Heyooo, so I know it's been literally a year since I uploaded but ya know, I suck at writing habits. I literally always write a BUNCH and then don't write for years. SO here, ya go, picking up where we left off.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, I arranged the few things that I had in storage to be shipped to Boston and Sophie helped me set up Dad's guestroom. I knew a little bit about interior decorating, but Sophie loves it and wanted to join me. Little did I know that it was a bit of a ruse to get to know me better. Apparently, the way a woman organizes her closet can say a lot about her life. We decided not to paint the walls, just keep them the pearl white color that they were. The bed was set up with a comforter covered in thin black and white stripes, a light-yellow throw blanket, and plenty of pillows. Sophie helped me pick out a white antique desk with black fixtures and a matching chair. Finally, we purchased a light-yellow, comfy chair for the corner. We had definitely gone over budget, but Sophie had insisted that the chair was her treat. The room was still pretty bare of actual things, but the furniture was comfy and nice looking.

My dad and I were still pretty awkward around each other trying to remember what it used to be like to live together. On the first morning he tried to make me a breakfast of avocado omelets, having forgotten my allergy to avocadoes. It was sweet, really. He was trying.

I was also slowly meeting each of the teammates. Eliot came by to help bring the newly bought furniture up into my room. Hardison was over soon enough to get my phone hooked up to his system so that they could find me if they needed to. Luckily, there was an option for me to turn that off for privacy. While their reputations preceded them, they weren't what I expected. Eliot was actually kind of a softie who liked to cook. Sophie bossed him around and while he acted frustrated, I could tell he didn't really mind it all that much. Hardison was definitely a genius and a nerd, but he was more charming than I thought. He had a really genuine smile. I hadn't met Parker yet, but I knew she was around. I had noticed a sudden lack of cereal one morning and Dad explained that that happened every now and then, a side effect of working with the unusual girl.

My Dad finally started working on a case and I was happy to get back to work. Decorating was fun, but it was nothing compared to the thrill of breaking the law. When I asked to join him in meeting with the client, I had no idea what I would be walking into. We had set up in the bar and Dad explained what he wanted me to do.

"Before these meetings, Hardison will do some research to make sure that they legitimately need help from us. These meetings let us hear the story directly from them and also let's us know what they want. Sometimes its money, revenge, or just for the person that hurt them to not be allowed to hurt anyone else." Dad explained.

"Ok, what do you want me to do?"

"You don't have to do much. The client will do most of the talking, all I'm going to do is ask some questions. You can jump in if you want to ask anything."

I nodded in response. Dad got up to order us some drinks and I watched the door. A man walked through the door, looked to be in his forties. He had a sling on and had a slight limp. Something about him set me on edge and I realized that his hand was hovering near his hip. He was probably a cop. I did not like cops. I had already had a few incidents with them, and each left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I wondered what he was doing here until Dad approached him and shook his hand. They came over to the table and I quickly stood.

"This is my daughter Elizabeth, she'll be joining us if that's ok." Dad introduced us, and I shook his hand.

"Alright by me."

We all sat down, and I clasped my hands together in my lap, already sweaty. Dad gave me a side glance before starting.

"Tell me about your situation."

"I've been a cop with the Boston PD for over 20 years. My wife got laid off a couple months ago, so I picked up some shifts with a security company to make ends meet."

"Mr. Cospito, you were doing a side job for Kerrity Diamonds?"

"Please, call me Joey. I'm feeling like an old man these days as it is."

He looked over at me in what was probably supposed to be amusing in relation to my age, but it made me jump a little bit. Dad looked at me again and urged Joey to continue.

"I was hauling about $10 million in diamonds that day. I'd done the same route five, maybe six times before, no problem."

"Armored car drivers are supposed to stay with the vehicle, right?"

"I'm a cop first." He was telling an interesting story, but I couldn't help but still feel nervous. I hadn't been a criminal that long, but it had somehow gotten under my skin. I took a sip from my glass, which had been brought to the table, trying to force myself to calm down.

"My instinct was stop a robbery in progress. Hell of a job I did, huh?"

"One guard for a delivery that size?"

"Ah, these days with companies pinching anywhere they can, happens all the time."

I forced myself to focus on his story and began to feel really bad for the guy. A company put a guy who saves lives on a daily basis at risk to save money. That just sucks.

"Sounds to me like an inside job." Dad commented.

"Except they thought the inside man was me. Hey, I know, first guy you look at is the blue-collar guy who's got money trouble. Until this investigation's closed and my name is cleared, I'm suspended from the force without pay."

"You are more than just some blue-collared worker with money troubles, Joey. You are more honorable than anybody at that company. We'll help you out." I couldn't help but to chime in.

Dad leaned back in his chair and Joey smiled at me.

"She's right, that said they still aren't putting much effort into the investigation, right?"

"No witnesses, no prints, trace elements of the explosive they used, fast burning DET cord. Medical bills are piling up. And there's no work for a guy with a bum shoulder and an open investigation."

"All right, listen, Joey. Elizabeth is right and we're going to do everything we can to help you with that, all right?" Dad said looking over at me when he said my name.

"Never thought it's be so tough just to try and keep a roof over my family's head, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." Dad said before taking a drink of his coffee.

"Not being rude, but why are you here?" Joey directed the question to me.

"We've got something of a family business goin'." I said before smiling at my dad.

We chatted some more before saying goodbye to Joey. Dad and I sat down to finish our drinks.

"So, why were you so nervous?" Dad asked.

I winced.

"I hoped you didn't notice." I took a breath before continuing, "I just don't like cops. I've had a couple run ins and they were less than fun, but Joey seems to be a good guy."

I could see the gears turning in Dad's head. I hoped he wouldn't question me further. He studied me for a moment before finishing the rest of his drink and jerking his head towards the back door, "Let's head up." I followed quickly.

"Nerves aside, I'm glad I was there for the meeting. It helps me understand why you guys do this." I told my dad as I climbed the steps. I was genuinely happy to have met Joey. I know that the world generally sucks, but to go face to face with someone who has done nothing but the make sacrifices for those around him, it just puts things into perspective.

A few hours later the team was gathered in our living room to discuss what we had learned plus the info that Hardison had gathered. I was in the kitchen grabbing a snack when Hardison started to talk.

"Jim Kerrity III. He took over Kerrity Diamonds four years ago after his old man retired-"

I walked back from the kitchen and found everyone settled in their spots. Dad and Eliot both sat in chairs and Sophie and Parker on either side of the couch. The sole empty spot in the center of the couch. "-and in that small amount of time, he managed to drive the business straight into the ground by living way beyond his means."

I stalled while holding my bowl of chips. I'm not a shy person but suddenly the thought of having to walk in front of everyone before sliding between two people I admired seemed impossible.

"I'm talking drugs, booze, women. According to his credit cards, same as-"

Sophie seemed to notice I was still standing and looked over at me. Hardison stopped talking.

"Hey, I would appreciate it if everyone paid attention to what I was saying."

At that point Dad and Parker had both looked back at me. Hardison looked annoyed as Eliot asked what was up.

"Nothing, nothing at all." I took a shallow breath and walked in front of my dad and Sophie before sitting down.

Hardison continued, "Now, Kerrity's finances are a mess—"

Parker leaned over to me, "Can I have some of your chips?"

I looked down at the bowl before noticing she already had some in your hand.

"It can't hurt since you've already taken them for yourself. Plus, you ate my favorite cereal without asking. So, go ahead, have some chips." I whispered back to her with a smirk.

"GUYS, could you please focus on the presentation that I spent a lot of time and effort on?"

"Sorry Hardison." "Yeah, sorry" Parker and I both apologized.

"As I was saying his accounts are maxed out and overdrawn. According to the insurance claim, he stands to gain $9 million from the armored-car robbery."

"You know, a guy like this, he gets in over his head, and his insurance policy starts to look pretty attractive." Dad explained.

"Hires a couple of thugs, knocks off his own truck." Eliot jumped in.

"It's a sweet payout, too. He gets the insurance claim, plus he still has the diamonds." Hardison said.

"Mm-hmm, and honest people like Joey take the heat." Eliot said.

"You know, the thing about this most people don't understand is insurance fraud, it's a lot of red tape. I mean, a claim like this it'll take about a year before Kerrity sees any of the money and the bill collectors, they're not gonna wait around." Dad explained.

"He's gotta fence the diamonds?" I asked.

"He can't." answered Parker standing up to grab the clicker out of Hardison's hand.

"What do you mean?" Sophie questioned.

"His diamonds are GIA-Cerified, VVS clarity, all about two carats."

"That's my clicker." Hardison complained.

"Who stole the Polar Star? Who stole the Gem of Gibraltar? Damiani Raid? Me. I know diamonds and our bad guy can't fence those diamonds because stones that size have an I.D. number laser inscribed on them."

"Oh, so it's like a stolen car. You got to clean the vin before you can sell them." I said.

Dad looked at me concerned before he asked, "How do you get that I.D. number off?"

"With a special laser, but only three guys can do it. Antwerp, Dubai, Tel Aviv."

"And as of right now, Boston, right?" Dad stood up as Parker sat back down.

"I mean, Kerrity has to move his diamonds, so we convince him that we're the only people who can make them clean enough to move."

"Get them to bring the diamonds to us." Hardison explained.

"And when he shows up, oh Hardison can you put the crime scene photos up?"

Hardison grabbed his clicker back from Parker before sitting in the seat Dad had just left.

"State police guy, Lieutenant Bonanno." Eliot said.

"Yeah, so we drop Kerrity on his lap with the stolen diamonds. Lieutenant Bananno drops the hammer. Our guy gets cleared, gets his job back."

"Wait, another cop. You guys ARE criminals, right? Why do you talk to so many cops, Dad?" I asked.

"It's alright, Elizabeth. Bonanno doesn't care about us, he's a good guy." Sophie explained.

"We've worked with him before." Hardison said. I looked back at Sophie before letting it go. If all these seasoned criminals were ok with working with all these police, then I would be fine. Dad started to dole out jobs.

"Parker, you be the roper."

"What?"

"Cute dress, heels. You'll be fine."

"Actually," Sophie cut in, "I was thinking Elizabeth could be our roper." I perked up at hearing I had a job.

"Sophie, no, she's not ready." Dad tried convincing her.

"Nonsense, you've grifted before, right darling?"

"Yeah, I've been a part of dozens of cons."

Dad pulled Sophie aside and he started whispering to her. He had to put me in though. Otherwise, he'll never know how good I am. I couldn't believe that he was going to stop me from doing the job that I was meant to do. I joined the team to learn more and under Sophie I could learn a lot.

"Ok, fine, Elizabeth will be the roper, but Eliot will be the muscle and you don't let her get hurt." Dad said looking at the hitter. I doubted anyone could get past him. Soon everyone was dispersing to get ready for the con. Sophie came by later to bring me a dress and shoes to wear. She gave me some advice about how to make the approach before leaving again. She had left me in my room and I could hear her go downstairs and talk to my dad. I walked to the top of the stairs just in time to hear the back end of the conversation.

"I just don't know if she's ready for this."

"Her or you?" Sophie responded. There was no response but after a moment I heard her heels click and the door open and close. I walked down the stairs. Dad was standing at the bar in the kitchen with his hand in his hair. He turned around to the sound of my steps on the metal staircase.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough." I responded.

"It's not that I don't trust you or your abilities, its just-"

"It's just that the last time you saw me try to lie was in 7th grade when I had tried to convince you that I didn't have school because the teachers were taking the day to learn more about playground management."

"Exactly. I'm fine with you being out there." Dad said.

"I'm sure you are." I said with just a hint of sarcasm in my voice, "I'm going to go get ready for tonight."

"All right."

"I'll have a whiskey neat." I said to the bartender as I sidled up next to the mark.

" _Elizabeth, really?"_

" _She learns from the best."_ Hardison quipped back causing my dad to stop talking through the intercoms.

"That's a big drink for a small girl." Kerrity commented. I internally grimaced.

"I can handle it."

"Is that an Australian pink diamond? Is that the Roslind? That's an impressive replica."

"It's the original."

"I'll have to take your word for it. I have people who certify these things for me."

"Do you want to take a closer look?" Kerrity smiled before reaching to look at the large jewel around my neck. While he looked, I snuck a glance at my dad who sat at a table across the bar. His face looked a little pale before he made eye contact with me and nodded his head.

"This is a very famous diamond. How did you get it?" Kerrity asked.

"I stole it." Kerrity's eyebrows inched upwards.

"With help from a mentor." I clarified.

"Not sure you should have revealed such a personal fact."

"Are you going to run off to the police with that one?"

"No, it's just- it's just that I work in diamonds, too."

"Worried that I might have you in my sights for certain, illicit, activities?"

"Why would I? Although, now that you mention it, I'd love to talk shop with the man that managed to get his hands on the Rosalind Diamond."

" _Don't say anything. Just walk him to Sophie."_ Dad said.

I followed his orders taking him straight to Sophie. We entered the back room where Sophie was playing pool with Eliot. She wore a black understated outfit paired with black Louboutins, her hair pinned into an elegant bun.

"Hello darling, brought me another catch and release today?"

"Nope, he works in diamonds. Wants to talk business."

"If it swims."

Eliot got a hold of Kerrity, twisted his arm behind his back, and held him to the pool table.

"And you are?" Sophie asked after taking a slow sip of her wine.

"A well-guarded person, too." Three large men who appeared to be carrying walked in.

"Alright." Sophie nodded to Eliot who let go of the mark.

" _Well, looks like we found our armored-car robbers."_ Dad remarked.

"Jim Kerrity." he said as he reached out to kiss Sophie's hand.

"You've had a difficult couple of weeks."  
"The heist, yes."

"With all your protection, and yet you can't stop a simple robbery?" Kerrity raised an eyebrow.

"I know an inside job when I see one." The way Sophie was able to display her strength in such a subtle way was amazing.

"So, I hear you're a thief." Sophie glanced back at me.

"Is that what the little hummingbird told you? I'm more of a retrieval specialist with a good exporting network."

"She is one of the best. Together we've stolen Polar Star, Gem of Gibraltar, and the Damiani Raid."

" _Nate! She's taking all my credit. Why can't I be the one in there anyway? I AM the thief."_ Parker said from where she sat with Hardison in the van outside the bar.

" _Parker, she has to establish credit for Sophie and Sophie can't do that herself. Besides, remember the knife last time."_ I made a mental not to ask about the knife story later.

"I'm lucky to study under her. She's incredible." I started to stammer ahead before taking a breath to stop myself. I couldn't actually seem like a 14-year old fanboy.

"Apparently I shouldn't be seen talking to you Miss-"

"Iyla Mills. My apologies that my little protégée dragged you in here, only to have you leave so quickly."

"It was well worth it."

"I hope you have your job all handled. Stealing them is one thing-" I chimed in.

"Selling them is a whole other, especially with those inscribed I.D. numbers."

Eliot made eye contact with me from behind Kerrity. We were in.

"Not nearly as difficult as it used to be, with lasers and all." I said.

"How do you suppose?"

Sophie started to explain. "We happen to have access to the only laser in the country that can clean a diamond of any such markings."

"What kind of fee do you charge for such a specialized service?"

"15%"

"5%"

"15%" Sophie insisted.

"Not sure that I can swing that."

I jotted down a burner number on a napkin.

"Take this, you'll change your mind." Sophie said.

He took the napkin and handed it to one of his body guards. He grabbed my hand and kissed it.

"Thank you for this little chat." He nodded towards Sophie before leaving.

" _Excellent work guys. Tomorrow I'll put some pressure on him and soon enough we'll have a call."_ Dad said.

Sophie squeezed my arm before we all headed out. This working with my dad thing might actually work out.

Damp. That's the first thing I was aware of when I woke up handcuffed to a chair. There was a distinct smell of mold and the air was humid. My eyes opened to see that I was sat across from one of Kerrity's body men. I grimaced trying to remember what had happened. We had just gotten to the lab that Parker and Hardison cleared out. We were waiting to meet with Kerrity and Sophie asked me to run out to her car to get water. I think Kerrity's guys must have grabbed me when I was outside. I blinked to let my eyes adjust to the lighting.

"Sorry about the head. He wasn't supposed to knock you out." My captor spoke up.

I gave a smirked at the guy that he was referring to.

"You are the answer to my problems," he said, his Russian accent thick. He stood to pour me a glass of vodka.

"What are we celebrating?" I sneered.

"We are stealing Kerrity's diamonds, again."

"You want me to help you."

"You're smart. We know where the diamonds are kept in the vault. We need someone to bust them out."

"Why me? Why didn't you grab Miss Mills?"

"From the way it sounded, you had a big part in most of those grabs. Also, you just happened to be the first person to walk out of that lab alone."

"Why don't you just wait for the buy out with Kerrity?"

"He's taking too long and there's no way he was going to go through with the laser deal. He just seems to have his eye on you."

I rolled my eyes internally. I considered faking a call so that Dad could help me out, but a bigger part of me wanted to prove that I could do this on my own.

"As long as I get a percentage."

"Of course, a small percentage would be right."

"20%"

"Why would we agree to that? We are the ones that have you tied up."

"You'll agree to that because I can steal the diamonds back. AND I can scrub them and have a seller for them by tomorrow evening."

He turned around and whispered to one of the other men. I realized I might need more help.

"Ok. You have a deal." He took out a key and unlocked my handcuffs.

"I need to make a quick call. Miss Mills will be suspicious if I don't get back to her soon."

He nodded. I took out my phone and dialed the person that I hoped wouldn't tell dad.

 **At Nate's Apartment**

"What happened?" Nate was frantic as Sophie and Eliot returned to his apartment.

"I sent Elizabeth to get some water from my car. Kerrity showed up before she returned. He didn't go for the buy and left. We still can't find her anywhere." Sophie explained.

"Hardison."

"Yeah boss. Something is wrong with her phone's signal. The last place I have for her is somewhere around here," a mapped appeared on the TV with a red circle.

"That's a mile from Kerrity's store." Eliot observed.

*buzz buzz buzz*

"Parker, your phone." Eliot pointed out to her.

"Right," she moved to answer it, "hello." Parker froze before quickly putting the phone on speaker.

"- I'm sorry that I missed out on the Kerrity meeting, I had some personal stuff come up." The team heard Elizabeth's voice.

"Sweetie, this is Dad. The whole team is here. What happened?"

"I understand, I understand. You hate when my personal life interrupts a job, but I can handle the pressure."

"You can't talk, let us help."

"Yes. Do you remember that job we did back at the Pasha?"

"You're with the Russian goons?"

"Right. Except this time, I have to go take care of gran instead of my sister, Parker."

"They want you to be the thief?"

"Yes. I'll meet you back at your glass house. Take care." The line went dead.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Hardison asked.

"The Russians want Elizabeth to break into Kerrity's vault."

* * *

Whatcha thinking? Do you like it, do you hate it? (Mariah are you reading it?)

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!


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